What America should really learn from Dianne Feinstein
Her patriotism made her a fearless truth-teller when the government fell short—whichever party was in power
It seems like another age—almost a different America, shrouded in a different dark cloud—but it was just nine years ago, on a Friday: Dianne Feinstein, then the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, got a call from John Kerry, the secretary of state and an old friend. Ms Feinstein, a Democrat from California, had just dispatched to the printer the executive summary of her committee’s report on the CIA’s use of torture after the attacks of September 11th 2001. She was planning to release the findings the next week, despite intense resistance not just from the CIA but from Barack Obama’s White House, which had demanded so many redactions she had feared the report might be “decimated”.
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This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “Feinstein’s law”
United States October 7th 2023
- Kevin McCarthy’s sacking deepens the chaos in American government
- Travelling to and from America has become a waiting game
- Republican parties in important swing states are falling behind
- The post-Title-42 lull in border crossings is over
- Detroit wants to be the first big American city to tax land value
- What America should really learn from Dianne Feinstein
From the October 7th 2023 edition
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Yes, but other factors could hold him back
As Jack Smith exits, Donald Trump’s allies hint at retribution
The president-elect hopes to hand the Justice Department to loyalists
Democratic states are preparing for Donald Trump’s return
But Mr Trump will be more prepared, too